Darkness
by connormydear
Summary: Set after the game. Markus led a peaceful revolution/ Connor and Hank investigate a seemingly normal case, but an accident leaves them reeling./Hank and Connor have a PLATONIC father/son relationship.
1. Chapter 1: The Accident

"Connor! Earth to Connor! You alive in there?"

Connor opened his eyes to see Hank staring worriedly down at him. "Of course Lieutenant, I was just going through what we know about this case so far. I'm sorry to have made you worry, I should have told you." Fixing his tie and jacket, Connor stood up, looking at Hank straight in the eyes.

"Yeah well, whatever, let's get to the crime scene. We'll be the last ones there at this rate, and I don't really want Fowler being a pain in the ass, not today anyway." Hank cleared his throat and led the way out of the police station, Connor right behind him. "Tch.. I wasn't worrying.." Hank muttered under his breath, but Connor could hear every word, and he knew it wasn't quite true.

There was definitely more peace than ever before in the streets of Detroit, after Markus successfully liberated the androids. They were free, and could do what they wished, anything that was legal, Hank and Connor made sure of that. But, unfortunately for Connor, some of these androids believed that he was still working for Cyberlife, and was going to kill Markus if he got the chance, so they tried again and again to neutralise the threat. Luckily, Connor was never in any real danger, with his extensive fight training embedded in his code, and of course Hank, who never let Connor out of his sight in these situations.

"Hey Chris, so do we have anything new to go on here?" Hank got out of the car, and of course Connor followed closely behind. He knew a little about the case, not too exciting, a couple of androids causing trouble in the park, trashing the place, threatening people, claiming they were 'helping' Markus. Connor had decided to make some plans for after the case, something he rarely did, but now he's a deviant, so why not? His LED flashed yellow thinking of the many things he might like to do, but he settled on going back home to Hank's house and seeing Sumo. He smiled at the thought of that big dog, running about the small house.

Hank finished talking, and went over to Connor, "There's nothing new, nothing we already know. Chris thinks that the androids are armed, and are probably still here, so watch your back, ok?"

"Ok Lieutenant. You too." Connor took out his flashlight and shone it around the deserted park. He spotted something on the ground, blue blood. Fresh. A closer look revealed that there was a trail, leading away from the main scene. Deciding it was safe enough to go alone, Connor followed the trail, ending up behind a few bushes. Scanning the area, Connor couldn't see anyone, and was about to head back to Hank when two androids dropped out of a tree over his head.

One, put his hand over Connor' mouth, stopping him from calling out for Hank. The other pulled out a small handgun and pointed it directly at him. Connor's LED flashed red as he started to panic, but he knew he had to stay calm if there was any chance he could make it out of this.

"Well,well, lookee at what we got here, huh?" The one with the gun said, "The famous deviant hunter captured by deviants itself."

The other android decided it was his turn to talk, "We are loyal to Markus, and we are not going to let you hurt him! We know you're planning something with Cyberlife", the android sounded disgusted saying that name, "so we are just gonna end you now."

"Well, first, maybe a bit of torture for our trouble. I had to slice my arm making that blue blood trail, you know." The android with the gun gestured to a large gash on her arm. She then put the gun into the waistband of her jeans, taking out a long knife instead. Connor squirmed, trying to get free, trying to call for help.

"Stop wiggling, asshole." The android behind Connor growled, kicking the back if his knees, so he fell down. The other android moved closer,waving the knife around. She kneeled down, so she was directly in front of Connor, and stabbed the knife right into his left eye.

The pain was unbearable. Connor screamed, but it was muffled by the hand covering his mouth. He could feel the thirium leaking down his face, and he couldn't stop the tears flowing, or his wildly flashing, bright red LED. The androids laughed, clearly enjoying the torture. "Hey, should i do it again?" The android with a knife asked the other android.

"Yeah, for sure. We went through all this trouble to get him, might as well enjoy it before we kill him." Happy with this answer, the armed android copied her moves from before, kneeling in front of Connor. Connor panicked, doing anything to try and get away, but to no avail. The android threw the knife at him, hitting his right eye. Connor screamed again, before his world went dark.

"Connor? Connor!" Hank searched around for his missing partner. He was getting very worried, and swore to himself to kick Connor's ass when they got home. He looked around again, seeing no sign of Connor, until he caught a glimpse of a flashing LED. A bright red LED. "No..no!" Hank whispered, taking out his gun, and running over to the bushes.

The colour drained out of his face when he saw the scene before him. He saw two androids, one with a knife, and another holding Connor.. _oh Jesus.. Connor._ There was blue blood everywhere, and Connor was the source. Where those kind brown eyes once were, there was wires and sparks flying.. Hank realised what had happened. They stabbed him in his eyes.

Seeing that red LED, Hank lost it. He quickly aimed his gun at the armed androids head, and not hesitating, he shot. Bullseye. The android fell down. The other one tried to reach for a gun that was laying close by, dropping Connor on the ground in the process. Hank shot that one right in the head also, and was happy to see it dead.

That feeling didnt last for long however, and Hank sprinted to Connor, who was lying on the ground, unmoving. "Jesus.. Connor! Connor.. oh my god..shit!! Connor!" Hank carefully moved him into his lap, cradling him. The voice was so small, anyone could've missed it, but Hank heard it like it was coming through a speaker. "Hank? Hank.."

"Hey, hey, its ok son, I've got you. Its ok. You're safe." Hank soothed the panicking Connor, as Chris ran over, hearing the gunshots. "Hank? Holy shit!"

"Chris, take these bodies out of here. I'm fine here." Hank stated.

"O-ok." Chris stuttered, beginning to drag the bodies away.

"Hank.. Hank." Connor was sobbing, his LED still flashing a wild red. Hank knew he had to calm him down, but it was easier said than done. Hank was finding it hard to keep it together himself. "I'm here, I'm here. You're gonna be ok. I'm not going anywhere."

"I can't.. i can't." Connor wasn't sobbing as much anymore, but he was still weak from the blood loss. "You can't what, son?" Hank needed to keep him talking, if he went to sleep, he wasn't sure if he would wake up.

"I can't see. I can't see anything!" Connor panicked again,his voice rising.

Hank didn't know how to respond, all he could do was stroke Connor's hair, while being unable to stop a few tears from falling himself. "Ok son, its ok..I'm gonna help you."

 **TBC**

Hope you enjoyed my first ever fic! (Yes i know its bad) Leave a review, its greatly appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2: Recovery

After a few minutes of constant reassurances, Hank decided it would be better to take Connor back to his house, instead of lying on the ground for hours on end. Hank took a moment to compose himself before speaking gently to the traumatised android lying in his arms.

" Hey, Connor?"

" y-yeah, Hank?" Connor stuttered on his words. " _that can't be good,"_ Hank thought to himself.

"I think we should head home. It's getting pretty cold out here, we'll see what we can do for you there." Connor froze.

 _Shit, wrong choice of words, Hank!_

"Uh- I.. Sorry." Hank scrambled to apologise.

"It's ok." a quiet voice stated.

"Ok..come on, son. Here we go." Hank rose to his feet, wrapping Connor's arm around his shoulders, and grabbing his waist with his other hand. Connor groaned, and Hank felt awful. _I should've been looking out for him._

Hank caught a glimpse of the flashing red LED. "Hey, Connor! Is it too sore to move?" Hank was getting more and more worried by the second.

"No, well, yes it hurts, but-" Connor cut himself off, with a shake of his head.

"But?" Hank encouraged him. "I-I'm scared. I'm really scared." Connor whispered, almost crying again. Hank froze.

 _"I'm scared, Dad! I can't do it!" A boy, 6 years old, not wanting to get onto the rollercoaster at the theme park._

 _"Cole, it's ok. I'll keep you safe." Hank, on the last family trip before the accident, reassuring his son._

Hank snapped back into the moment and struggled to speak around the sudden lump in his throat. "Connor, it's ok. I'll keep you safe."

"Thank you, Hank." The android said with a small smile, his LED flickering back to a yellow colour.

"You don't have to thank me. Ok, let's go, you'll be much more comfortable back at the house." Hank walked slowly, making sure Connor wouldn't bump into anything on the way to the car.

xxx

They slowly, but surely, reached Hank's old car, and Hank lowered Connor carefully into the passengers seat. "Alright, let's get out of here." Hank was more than happy to leave that park. He probably wouldn't be back anytime soon.

Hank couldn't stop himself from looking over at Connor every few seconds. "Hank, keep your eyes on the road, please." Connor's voice startled Hank, that was the longest sentence he'd said all night. Hank tried, but ultimately failed, to suppress a small chuckle. "Whatever you say, kid."

They made it home, and Hank went to unlock the door first, before returning to the car to help Connor inside. He put him on the couch, and went to get some wipes and bandages for the wounds. "I'm just gonna clean you up a little, ok? Might make you feel a little better." Hank carefully began wiping away some of the blue blood.

"Hank, what happened to those androids that.. attacked me?" Connor startled Hank, who was busy cleaning.

"I shot them. Both. Right in the head." Hank wasn't sure how Connor would react, seeing as they were also deviants, albeit crazy ones.

"Good." Connor's short answer was accompanied by a small flash of red on his LED.

"Connor? What do you mean?" Hank was slightly concerned by the angry tone the androids voice took.

"I- I know I shouldn't .. but, I feel angry thinking about those deviants.. and.. I don't particularly mind what you did to them."

"Jesus Connor! Of course you're allowed to be angry at them! I mean, I get angry at people pretty much on a daily basis." Hank tried to make Connor realise that these new emotions were ok.

The only answer Hank received was a small nod, but it was good enough for him. "Ok, those wounds look much better now, with those bandages on them. I'm gonna call Cyberlife, and see when they can get out here to fix you up." Hank sat beside Connor and pulled out his phone.

"Hi there, Hank Anderson. My android has major damage, and I'd like someone over here ASAP to fix it." Hank talked to the man on the phone, trying to be polite, for Connor's sake. "Yeah, both eyes. Ok, great."

"He's an RK800." A long pause. "What?" Hank couldn't stop the dangerous edge in his voice. "No, you're gonna come here right now! I don't fucking care what day or time it is! I'm not fucking waiting until Monday! This android is sitting here, suffering, blind, and you're telling me I have to wait until Monday because you don't work on weekends!" Hank was screaming into the phone now. "You listen to me- hey!" Hank threw the phone across the room as the man hung up. He looked over at Connor, who was looking very uncomfortable.

Hank put his face into his hands. "Fuck.. Sorry Connor. These assholes won't come until Monday."

"It's not your fault Hank, they probably still don't like me very much after I failed them." Connor tried to make Hank feel better, but he was feeling pretty miserable, and Hank could tell.

"Hey, I have some thi-ther- blue blood in the fridge." Hank stood up and retrieved it, putting it in Connor's hand. "Might make you feel stronger or something."

"Thanks." Connor drank every drop. "Huh, you were right. It does make me feel a little stronger. Do you mind if I go into rest mode? I need some time to.. think."

"Sure, Connor." Hank fluffed up Connor's hair fondly, before getting a blanket and putting it on the android.

xxx

Connor knew he was out of rest mode, but he didn't understand why he was in complete darkness. He panicked. Did Amanda trap him in his own mind? Was he dead? Oh my god, he was dead... Where's Hank? Is he ok? Hank!

"HANK! Hank!" Connor found himself screaming into the dark abyss. He felt artificial tears fall down his face, and he felt his mechanical heart beat faster and faster. He felt as if he was spiralling down, down into eternal darkness, and he was terrified, petrified, and he thought he was going to explode, and he missed Hank, and he had never felt emotions this strong before, which was even more scary until- a rough hand touched the side of his face, instantly calming him. Hank.

"Connor! Hey.. hey.. come here. Shhh, shh. It's all ok. Do you remember what happened? Listen, I need you to calm down and listen to me, ok? Calm down, I'm right here."

The contact grounded Connor, and he found that he did remember. Those.. androids.. what they did to him.. the pain. He remembered Hank on the phone, really angry. He remembered he was blind.

"I'm sorry, Hank. I forgot what happed, and I got scared." Connor felt stupid that he couldn't get through this like everything else he had before, Hank shouldn't have to look after him like a scared child.

"Hey, don't you dare be sorry. It wasn't your fault what those androids did to you. Shit, if that was me, I'd probably fall into a coma or somethin'." Connor heard Hank speak with determination, and he could imagine the look in Hank's eyes as he tried to make him understand.

"You ok now? I'm not gonna leave again tonight. I'm gonna be right here."

Connor felt pressure on his arm, and he realised that Hank must have put it there to make sure he stays grounded. This thoughtfulness gives Connor a warm feeling all over, and he decides he likes it. This must be what family is.

But Connor always remembers Hank's schedule, and he needs to remind Hank, as he would on any other day. "Hank! You need to get some sleep, for work tomorrow. My internal clock says its around 3AM. Am I correct?"

Connor hears Hank sigh, "Jesus Connor, I'm not going in to work tomorrow. What would I do without my partner anyway? Fowler can kiss my ass."

Connor recognises from Hank's tone of voice that he means what he's saying, so he opts to not argue. "Ok, Hank."

A loud bark startles Connor, and he can sense a presence in front of him. Sumo, of course. "Hi, Sumo."

"Connor, I'm gonna go get my phone. I'll call Fowler and tell him we're not coming in tomorrow. I'll be back in just a second," The pressure on Connor's arm lifted, and he found he missed the contact, and felt a little unstable without it.

Sumo decided that he wanted to play at that moment, so he jumped up on Connor. "Woah.. Sumo." Connor didn't expect that, but he expected even less that Sumo was going to jump up onto the couch with him. A misplaced paw, covered Connor's mouth, and that was all it took for a series of flashbacks from the park to play out in this mind.

The android, grabbing him from behind. The fear of not being able to call for help. Connor certainly didn't regret fighting his programming and becoming deviant, but sometimes he didn't like emotions very much. The scene replayed over and over and over again, and Connor wanted it to stop, to stop feeling the pain, both physical and emotional.

The same exact scene, a perfect recollection of his traumatic experience, the android kneeling right in front of him, menacingly holding a knife in front of his eye, about to strike, when there was.. an earthquake?

 _Connor! Connor.. please!_ Connor heard a voice, a voice he'd know from anywhere, and he followed it through the awful memory. He felt himself closer and closer to escaping the scene, following the voice.

He was almost there, just one more barrier to break through, though this one was difficult. He searched for his guide, the voice he loved to hear so much.

 _Connor.. come back.. I can't lose another son._

That was all Connor needed to smash through his mental barriers and into the waking world. "Hank.." He found it a little difficult to speak, like he hadn't used his voice in some time.

"Oh my god.. Connor!" Connor felt himself being hugged tightly, surrounded by a nice warmth, and of course he hugged back.

"What happened? Are you ok, Hank?"

"Are you ok, Hank? Jesus Connor, you scared the shit out if me, I thought you were dead! I came back in after being on the phone, and you were just lying there, not moving an inch. I tried talking to you, I even shook you,- _oh, earthquake_ \- but you wouldn't respond. Fuck, don't do that again. You were gone for about 5 hours! What happened exactly?" Hank was very concerned, and it made Connor feel loved, that someone actually cares about him for once.

"I'm not too sure actually.. Sumo jumped on me...and put his paw on my mouth.. and I guess.. I-I thought I was back in the park. With those two androids." Connor still found it hard, thinking about it.

"Oh." Hank realised what had happened. "I think you went into shock, Connor. When you felt Sumo's paw on your mouth, your mind believed you were at the park. Jesus.." Hank spoke softly, and that comforted Connor. "Ok, from now on until the assholes from Cyberlife get here, I'm staying right here. So you don't have that happen again."

Connor felt that familiar pressure return on his arm. "Thanks, Dad."

Hank blinked back tears, but remembering Connor couldn't see him, he let them fall. "No problem, son." He said, as he hugged Connor close once again. _Son.. that does fit._

xxx

The loud doorbell startled both Hank and Connor awake. Checking that Connor was ok, Hank got up and opened it. "Finally, asshole!"

An employee from Cyberlife was standing there, with a large toolbox in his hand. He coughed, "Um.. yes.. ok.. Mr. Anderson. Where is your android?"

Hank gestured to Connor, who was still on the couch. "Ok, so the procedure shouldn't take too long, but I recommend you go into standby, RK800." He spoke to Connor, while trying to avoid Hank. _Ha, scared of me, dumbass?_

Hank's eyes jumped over to Connor's LED, which glowed a warning red. Quickly, he moved over to him, placing his hand over Connor's.

"Hey, it's gonna be fine. I'll be right here when ya wake up."

Connor seemed to relax, the LED returning to a soft blue. Satisfied, Hank stepped back to allow the worker to do the procedure. He couldn't help pacing around the room in worry, the last time a procedure, a surgery had been done for someone he cared about... No, he wasn't going to think about that now, Connor needed him to be strong.

A few minutes, that felt like hours, later, the employee stood up, admiring his work. "Ok, are we good here?" Hank stood in front of him.

"Ah, yes. Everything went smoothly and he should wake up shortly. Since your RK800 was stationed to the police department, the costs are covered." The employee seemed to be in a hurry to leave.

"Well, ok. Bye- bye!" Hank waved him out the door in an overly dramatic fashion, before sitting down beside Connor on the couch. He waited anxiously for his surrogate son to awaken.

Hank was petting Sumo when he caught he movement out of the corner of his eye. Fluttering eyes. Hank looked at Connor, waiting for him to say something, worried when he didn't speak.

"Connor? Say something, son!" Hank was terrified the employee had messed up. He cupped Connor's face and looked deep into his brown eyes.

"Hank.." Hank noticed tears forming in the android's eyes. "Connor.. talk to me! What's wrong? Did that Cyberlife asshole do something to you?"

Connor shook his head, "No, no. It's just.. I can see." He smiled a bright smile, which pretty much killed Hank, who was overjoyed and relieved. "Thank god.." Hank shook his head.

"Hank, now that I can see you, I must inform you that you look like, how would you say it? Shit. You look like shit." Hank was speechless for a moment, before exploding into a fit of laughter, closely followed by Connor.

"You are gonna be the death of me one of these days." Hank was breathless after laughing so hard.

"Thank you Hank. For helping me through this." Connor said so sincerely, it almost made Hank cry again. Almost.

"Don't thank me son. I'll always do it."

"Thank you anyway, Dad."

 **Fin.**

Woah! The end of my first fic! I hope you all enjoyed the ride, and feel free to leave a review.

Thanks!


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